Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Forgotten TV: TWTWTW

That Was The Week That Was was on telly in Britain around 1962-63 and in the US in 1964-65. David Frost did the original. Steve Allen was part of the US version. The show looked at current events in a satirical way. Not sure why the runs were short. Perhaps shows like LAUGH-IN were more entertaining a year or two later.

Indeed, I was going to mention that David Frost was in the US version, too...and that "our" TW3 had a more lasting legacy than did LAUGH-IN (outside of MTV), despite the Rowan and Martin show having a sustained success...Tom Lehrer's showcase alone...Satire is what annoys network chiefs when they want to go hang out with their buddies in politics and other big business...see THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR and even, hard as it is believe, Norm MacDonald's WEEKEND UPDATE on SNL...

One reason, as I remember it, that the show went off the air is that the Goldwater campaign bought the half hour of time on NBC that the show was on week after week except for one week in which the show spent the entire time lambasting Barry Goldwater.

TW3, as it was called here in the USA, ran into trouble almost from the beginning, because Jack Paar hated it.The original tmeslot was on Friday night, just before Paar's primetime show, and Jack constantly complained about the "weak lead-in" he was getting from TW3. In turn, TW3 mercilessly made fun of Paar's vanity and egomania. When NBC picked up TW3 for a second season, they moved it to Tuesday nights in deference to Paar; this led to Henry Morgan loudly quitting the show, along with many of the regular players.The budget was reallocated to adding color, and the Republican National Commitee made things worse by buying up the least expensive timeslot on NBC.Oh and the reason that it was the least expensive timeslot:TW3's competition was Petticoat Junction on CBS and Peyton Place on ABC.

Those were just some of the reasons.During the show's first season, TV Guide ran an article covering the production of one week's show, depicting the fractious nature of the show and its players, Henry Morgan in particular.The piece was written by a freelancer named Peter Bogdanovich.(Whatever happened to him, anyway?)

And this...

“It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.” ― C.S. Lewis

Patricia (Patti) Abbott

Contact me

at aa2579@wayne.edu

About Me

Patricia Abbott is the author of more than 125 stories that have appeared online, in print journals and in various anthologies. She is the author of two ebooks, MONKEY JUSTICE and HOME INVASION and co-editor of DISCOUNT NOIR. She won a Derringer award for her story "My Hero." She lives outside Detroit.

CONCRETE ANGEL

Polis Books, 2015

CONCRETE ANGEL

An atmospheric and eagerly awaited debut novel from acclaimed crime writer Patricia Abbott, set in Philadelphia in the 1970s about a family torn apart by a mother straight out of Mommie Dearest, and her children who are at first victims but soon learn they must fight back to survive. Eve Moran has always wanted “things” and has proven both inventive and tenacious in getting and keeping them. Eve lies, steals, cheats, swindles, and finally commits murder, paying little heed to the cost of her actions on those who love her. Her daughter, Christine, compelled by love, dependency, and circumstance, is caught up in her mother’s deceptions, unwilling to accept the viciousness that runs in her mother's blood. Eve’s powers of seduction are hard to resist for those who come in contact with her toxic allure. It’s only when Christine’s three-year old brother, Ryan, begins to prove useful to her mother, and she sees a pattern repeating itself, that Christine finds the courage and means to bring an end to Eve’s tyranny.